“Not hope. Focus,” he corrected softly. “Your blood and magic carry your will. The rune only obeys if both are strong.” He dipped his head to me, now intertwining his fingers with mine. “Your turn.”
I hesitated, the weight of what was being asked of me feelingheavy. My blood pulsed through me, intermingling with the magic I had only recently tapped into. They both felt too bright, too loud, as I closed my eyes and focused. I tried to copy his shape, the glare of the light of my power flashing intermittently as I honed in on the shape. I whispered the word he had said, and for a breath, nothing happened—until the rune flared weakly, sputtering out in a tiny bright flash of light before dissolving completely.
Alaric’s lips twitched upward. “Not bad for your first time. Try again. The rune remembers.”
“Well, isn’t this cozy?”
Both of us turned. Celeste stood framed in the archway, her raven hair catching the torchlight like a halo, and her expression sharp enough to cut. Her eyes flicked from the bright fire of Alaric’s rune to where our hands were still intertwined.
“Only starting to teach her runes now, Alaric?” She asked, voice dripping with condescension. “After her show of power the other day, I would assume she’d already mastered the novice runes. How disappointing.”
The spark of warmth in my chest faltered under her gaze.
Alaric straightened, his jaw tightening. “She’ll get there. In time.”
Celeste’s smirk widened as her eyes locked on mine. “We’ll see about that.”
Celeste turned on her heel, her steps echoing as she exited the chamber. Alaric kept my hand in his, his dark eyes narrowing after Celeste. His green eyes swam with emotion—bitterness, resentment, and an echo of longing.
“Why does she hate me so much?” I mumbled, attempting to pull my hand out of his, but he only held tighter. He turned to face me, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
“Not you,” he corrected. “Me.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, turning his body to face me fully, his free hand coming up to cup my face. The Twinflame bond hummed between us, our individual powers searching for ways to connect, hence the constant touching. Not that I minded, exactly.
“Celeste and I . . .” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “Have a complicated history.”
“You dated, right? Sara-Kate told me.”
“Something like that,” he admitted. “It was just a summer fling, but clearly meant something more to her. That’s all.”
I felt my cheeks and the bond between us heat in response. I tried to push the feelings of insecurity and jealousy deep down inside me, to a place I could deal with later without Alaric around. It was becoming obvious that our bond would only continue to grow and gain more of each of us as time passed. We could already feel each other’s intense emotions, and the lastthing I needed was Alaric thinking I was jealous. It wasn’tme. It was thebond.Obviously.
He pushed my chin up with his fingers, making me look him in the eyes.
“But whatever that was between me and her doesn’t hold a candle tothis,” he swore, his green eyes now swimming with a different kind of longing—a kind that promised mountains would crumble and seas would roar. “I’m yours, Mari. Whether you want me or not.”
I nodded, my head feeling dizzy, the magic between us flaring from my fingertips down to my toes.
“Any other questions?” he asked, his head tilting as if he would bridge the little bit of a gap that still sat between us, our breathing labored.
I shook my head, squeezing his hand gently as I took a step back, taking a breath of fresh air to clear my head. I turned to my bag, glancing at the time on my phone, noting I needed to get home soon in order to comply with Tiffany’s new rules.
“I do have a quick question before we go,” I asked, the anxiety of worrying about Sara-Kate resurfacing as I turned around, shouldering my satchel. “Is there any way to predict if someone is going to awaken as a Bloodwright?”
Alaric turned slowly to face me, the blood seeming to drain from his face. “What makes you ask that?”
I was taken aback by his reaction, so differentfrom the warmth and familiarity we had just shared a moment ago.
“I’m just worried about Sara-Kate. She’s been acting kind of off lately, having strange dreams. Reminds me of what I was going through not too long ago.”
He physically relaxed, patting my shoulder reassuringly. “I’m sure she’s fine. There isn’t a clear formula that is followed when someone emerges. Plus, has anyone she loved and is blood-related to died recently?”
I sighed. “No, not that I know of.”
“Then you’re just worrying yourself for nothing,” he continued, pulling away to gather his water bottle and towel. “I’m sure Sara-Kate is fine. Normal people can have bad dreams and become stressed occasionally.”
